Video: How to Hard-Boil Quail Eggs

A cool kitchen trick from Chef Larry Reutens

We're so crazy about the spicy rock shrimp and grits at NYC's East Village Singaporean spot du jour, Masak, that we borrowed the recipe to share with you. But Food Republic, you ask, what about the quail egg garnish? The recipe does indeed call for 2 boiled, peeled and halved quail eggs. It occurred to us: does anyone know how to boil a quail egg properly? Regular hard-boiled eggs are confusing enough if you haven't read our comprehensive guide on how to hard-boil eggs. So we went back to Masak to ask Chef Larry Reutens exactly how he pulls off this awesomely tiny, yet impressive garnish.

There you have it:

Fill pot with just enough cold water to cover eggs.

Bring to just under boiling, then carefully drop eggs in.

Cook eggs for 2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to ice bath.

Let sit until cool enough to handle, then tap against a hard surface to crack the shell.

Return cracked eggs to ice bath for another minute.

Locate and peel away the membrane between the egg and the shell — the shell should come away with the membrane.

Rinse off any small bits of shell, slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy.